Iwane Matsui

Iwane Matsui (27 July 1878-23 December 1948) was a commander of the Imperial Japanese Army's forces in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, leading the Shanghai Expeditionary Army and Central China Area Army. He was executed for war crimes in 1948.

Biography
Iwane Matsui was born on 27 July 1878 in Nagoya, Japan, and in 1906 he graduated from the Army War College as an Imperial Japanese Army lieutenant. Matsui went to China on assignment from the army, as he loved Chinese culture and advocated pan-Asianism. In 1935, he retired from active duty in the IJA, but in 1937 he was recalled to the army and was given command of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army in time to lead the Japanese forces at the Battle of Shanghai. In August-November 1937, he defeated the Chinese at the Battle of Shanghai, and he convinced the high command to lead the army on to the Republic of China's capital of Nanjing. In the ensuing Rape of Nanking, hundreds of thousands of Chinese were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army, and in 1938-1946 he was in retirement again. After the end of World War II, he was arrested by the United States and was tried and hanged for his role in the Nanjing massacre.